Frequently Asked Questions

WHAT IS COMPASSION IN EDUCATION?

Compassion is not a soft woolly word; on the contrary it is quite a radical concept. The Foundation defines compassion in the widest sense and believes that it involves the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of students and of society; as well as their physical and mental health. It includes faith and interfaith approaches as well as secular movements devoted to values and character education, to educating the heart, to emotional literacy and to the building of empathy and resilience. It is both product based (curriculum, organisation, systems), as well as process driven (meditation, mindfulness, dialogic reasoning, active listening and the power of the narrative).

WHERE DO WE WORK?

Based in England we work across the UK and, with the assistance of our international associates, aim to work on the international scene.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO HAVE COED NOW?

At present the predominant paradigm in most education systems is based upon competition and selfishness. In a world beset with problems of environmental disaster, population explosion, religious and 'racial' violence, mass unemployment and a refugee crisis, we need to redevelop the wisdom of the ancients who taught that collaboration and service were a better way for humanity to live. Karen Armstrong neatly sums it up when she writes:

'If we don't manage to implement the Golden Rule globally, so that we treat all peoples, wherever and whoever they may be, as though they were as important as ourselves, I doubt that we'll have a viable world to hand on to the next generation.'

CoED helps schools to undertake the journey to compassion stressing at the same time that these affective processes actually help in the acquisition and application of knowledge.

HOW WILL YOU KNOW IF YOU HAVE SUCCEEDED?

There will be some tangible outputs like books and article publication, and attendance at our courses and conferences. In addition, our school based projects will meet their aims and the young people involved will learn and hopefully begin to love compassionate lives. More schools will declare themselves compassionate institutions. The more intangible areas like changing mind-sets, altering relationships between people and building a more just and equitable world are fundamental but more difficult to quantify.